Who Are the Core Customers in OHB Company's Target Market?

OHB core customers are institutional agencies: the European Space Agency (ESA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and the European Commission, which together account for about 75 – 80% of the order book in FY 2025 and anchor long-term program revenues.

OHB B2B clients in defense and security now form the second tier, with procurement driven by sovereignty needs; these contracts have risen since 2022 and contributed roughly 10 – 15% of FY 2025 backlog value.

OHB commercial partners and international space agencies make up the third tier: medium-class satellite missions, scientific payloads, and constellations; post-2024 KKR partnership, OHB targets commercial constellation operators needing standardized, cost-effective satellite buses.

OHB serves mainly institutions and governments with growing B2B commercial exposure; procurement decision makers are program directors at ESA/DLR, national ministry procurement offices, and constellation CTOs at commercial operators.

The institutional anchor segment is the most important by revenue and backlog share – representing over 75% of total order book in FY 2025 – and drives OHB's cash flow and program pipeline priorities; see program wins and competitor positioning in Competitive Landscape of OHB Company

OHB now prioritizes commercial satellite clients – especially constellation operators – aiming to increase commercial revenue share from ~10% in 2024 to a higher proportion in subsequent years through standardized, lower-cost buses and faster delivery.

Germany and Italy drive most revenue for OHB target market because of established aerospace supply chains and government spending; Germany accounts for a plurality of contracts and Italy provides significant engineering partnerships.

Emerging national space programs in Eastern Europe and the Middle East show rising procurement from OHB B2B clients seeking turnkey systems and Space-as-a-Service offerings.

OHB customer segments centered on government customers and commercial partners favor secure connectivity constellations (e.g., IRIS²) and defense payloads; defense-related space spending in Europe rose by 15 percent YoY through 2025, boosting OHB revenue mix toward secure services.

Demand is growing quickest for Space-as-a-Service bundles – ground segment, launch services (via Rocket Factory Augsburg), and end-to-end mission solutions – which appeal to OHB commercial satellite clients and military buyers seeking turnkey solutions.

OHB targets adjacent OHB customer segments by leveraging a near-€1.9 billion order backlog entering 2026 to underwrite capacity expansion, pursuing automated satellite production to win high-volume OHB commercial satellite clients and scaling into defense to attract OHB government customers and military primes. See How OHB Company Works and Makes Money for context.

Retention hinges on OHB's Total Mission service model – design through launch and ground operations – which creates switching costs for OHB B2B clients and OHB commercial partners. Private ownership-funded R&D shortens delivery timelines and improves reliability, lowering churn among OHB government customers and municipal and academic customers.

Repeat demand arises from multi-year programs and long-term service contracts for constellation maintenance and ground station ops; lifecycle contracts and integration services deepen OHB customer relationships and increase average contract value for OHB core customers.

The most important lever is vertical integration combined with automated production: it converts the €1.9 billion backlog into higher throughput, enabling OHB to capture volume from US manufacturers and to win new contracts from OHB government and OHB commercial partners as the EU emphasizes strategic autonomy in 2025/2026.